Biography

I am an ethnomusicologist and dialogical artist with specialist interests in contemporary English folk arts, and the performance legacies of the ‘town carnival movement’ in the North of England and Wales. In particular, I work regularly with members of the girls’ morris community, exploring the social history and contested status of troupe dancing within the canon of English folk.

Having been awarded an MMus with Distinction from SOAS in 2009, my PhD explored the potential efficacies of participatory, ‘artistic research’ methodology in the context of ethnomusicological inquiry. I continue to undertake occasional artist’s residencies; for example, in 2015 I was artist-in-residence with KULES at the Airspace Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent, producing work with and about ‘entertainer’ troupe dancers in Staffordshire. Additionally, from 2009 – 2016, I performed nationally and internationally as lead vocalist with the BBC Folk Award-nominated act, Pilgrims’ Way, in which I also played the melodic jews harp.

I am currently employed as Research Associate on the AHRC-funded Digital Folk project, examining the ways in which folk arts participants utilise digital resources, tools and networks in order to learn, collaborate, reinterpret traditional material and create new work (www.digitalfolk.org).